Typewriter ribbon shield



April 28, 1959 E'. C.LUNDEBERG 7 I TYPEWRITER RIBBON SHIELD Filed Dec.6, 1957 INVENTOR EDGAR C. LUNDE BERG ATTORNEYS. v

United States Patent TYPEWRITER RIBBON SHIELD Edgar C. Lundeberg,Hartford, Conn. Application December 6, 1957, Serial No. 701,054 8Claims. (Cl. 197-170) The present invention relates to ribbon guides fortypewriters and analogous machines and aims to provide certainimprovements therein.

The insertion of an inked ribbon into a ribbon guide on a typewriter andits removal therefrom with ease and without soiling the fingers of anoperator has long posed a problem which is still awaiting a satisfactorysolution. Numerous modifications of conventional ribbon guides and alsoof auxiliary means have been proposed for solving the problem butwithout substantial success and acceptance.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon guidewhich solves the problem in an exceedingly simple and unique manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ribbon guide whichwill enable an operator to position, guide and prepare a ribbon forfacile entrance, into the guide without soiling the fingers.

A still 'further'object of the invention is to provide a ribbon guidewhich will accomplish the foregoing objects without recourse to specialribbon spools, manually operable attachments and the like.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, not specificallyrecited, are accomplished by providing a ribbon guide having two pairsof upstanding spaced fingers, the adjacent sides of each pair providingan intervening ribbon guide slot open at its top, the fingers of the twopairs which are adjacent, each having a part thereof extending upwardlyadjacent the open end of the guide slot above the top of the otherfinger of the pair.

The invention will be better understood from the detailed descriptionwhich follows when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings showing two embodiments of the invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a ribbon guide embodying the inventionmounted in relation to the guide scale and ribbon spools of atypewriter;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the ribbon guide shown in Fig. 1, thebroken lines and the dot and dash lines showing preliminary positions ofthe ribbon preparatory to inserting it within the guide;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the ribbon guide shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a ribbon guide embodying a modificationof that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the ribbon guide shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the ribbon guide shown in Fig. 4.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a ribbon guide 10 isshown as embodied in a ribbon vibrator 11 of a form which with slightvariation is almost universally used on standard makes of typewriterssuch as Underwood, Royal and the like, but it will be understood thatthe guide means of the present invention may be embodied in typewriteror analogous machine parts of different constructions than herein shown.The ribbon guide is mounted for vertical reciprocation in front of amittently feed the ribbon through the guide as the type bars (not shown)are activated.

The ribbon guide as herein shown is preferably formed of sheet metal andconsists of two pairs or sets of spaced, upstanding fingers 14, theadjacent sides 14' and 15" respectively of each pair providing anintervening ribbon guide slot 16 which is open and unobstructed at itstop,,.

- the. fingers 1414 being laterally spaced apart to provide a type barstriking space 17 whereat the type bars strike the ribbon to makeimprints of the type upon the paper held onto the platen. The fingers 14lie in sub stantially a common plane xx and at their tops are benthorizontally forwardly to provide flanges 18 the edges of which adjacentthe guide slots 16 being bent upwardly to provide cars 19 which extendabove the tops of the fingers 15. Preferably the ears 19 are bent backto lie in the rear face plane of the fingers 14 as best seen in Figs. 2and 3. The fingers 15 are disposed angularly to the plane of the fingers14 and lie in a common plane y-y substantially parallel to and forwardlyof the. plane x--x within which the fingers 14 lie; The fingers 15 areipreferably integrally formed with the vibrator and guide and are eachcarried by a lateral arm 20 extending from the fingers 14, the said armbeing firstbent angular'ly rearwardly as shown at 21 and then upwardly.The

angular bend 21 provides a shoulder upon which the lower edge of theribbon in use will ride. The top 10f each finger '15 is preferably bentforwardly and downwardly to provide a flange 22 which is spaced fromthe. body of the finger and provides a guide for the top edge of theribbon.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the upstanding fingers of the ribbon guide areslightly differently formed from that shown in Figs. 1 to 3. Primarilythese differences reside in a wider spacing between the fingers 24 and25 than between the fingers 14 and 15 and in the tops of said fingers 24being bent rearwardly from said fingers as shown at 26. Also in that thetops of said fingers 25 are bent forwardly but not downwardly.

In both embodiments the tops of the fingers 14, 15 and 24, 25 terminatein a substantially common horizontal plane. The ears 19 which projectupwardly above the top surface of the fingers enable the typewriterribbon to be looped therearound as shown at 28 in dot and dash lines inFig. 2 and to then be drawn forwardly so as to cause the naturallyrounded loop to be formed into a substantially square cornered U loop asshown in broken lines 29, thereby allowing the ribbon to drop freelydown into the guide slots 16 of the shield. As the ribbon isstraightened out horizontally (the ribbon being in a normal verticalplane) the ribbon locks under the flanges 22 (Figs. 1 to 3) and flanges26 and 27 (Figs. 4 to 6) and is retained by said flanges. In theembodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the ribbon will not immediately engageunder the flanges 22 but upon operation of the machine the verticalreciprocation of the ribbon vibrator will cause the ribbon to positionitself under said flanges.

If the open tops of the guide slots 16 (Fig. 1) are made sufiicientlywide as shown in Fig. 4, the ears 19 may be dispensed with although itis preferable to have the cars 19 disposed in the manner described assaid ears greatly facilitate the preparation of a looped ribbon forpositioning into the guide slots.

It will be appreciated that in preparing the ribbon for entrance intothe guide slots and to avoid soiling the fingers of an operator, thelooping of the ribbon as shown at 28 may be accomplished by holding thetwo spools containing the ribbon in the hands of an operator whichthereby would eliminate the actual contact of the ribbon Patented Apr.28, 9,,

variations in the details of construction of the ribbon guide withparticular regard to the spacing of the fingers and the arrangement ofthe flanges at the tops of said fingers and the ears on certain of thefingers, may be resorted to within the range of mechanical orengineering skill without departing from the spirit of the invention ashereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a ribbon guide for a typewriter machine and the like, a guideproper having two pairs of spaced fingers, the adjacent sides of eachpair providing an intervening ribbon guide slot open at its top, thefingers of the two pairs which are adjacent, each having at its top aflange and an ear extending upwardly from said flange adjacent the openend of the guide slot above the top of the other finger of the pair.

2. A ribbon guide according to claim 1, wherein the tops of said otherfingers lie in substantially a common plane with the flanges on theadjacent fingers of the two pairs of fingers.

'3. A ribbon guide according to claim 1, wherein the tops of said otherfingers are each formed with a flange and said flanges lie insubstantially a common plane with the flanges on the adjacent fingers ofthe two pairs of fingers.

4. A ribbon guide according to claim 3 wherein the flanges on said otherfingers are bent forwardly and downwardly into substantial parallelspaced relation to the fingers.

5. In a ribbon guide for a typewriter machine and the like, a ribbonguide proper having two pairs of spaced fingers, the adjacent sides ofeach pair providing an intervening ribbon guide slot open at its top,the fingers of the two pairs which are adjacent, each having a flange atits top directed rearwardly and each of the other fingers having aflange at its top directed forwardly.

6. A ribbon guide according to claim 5, wherein the fingers of the twopairs which are adjacent lie in a common plane and the other two fingerslie in a common 3 plane substantially parallel to and forwardly of thefirst plane.

7. In a ribbon guide for a typewriter machine and the like, a ribbonguide proper having two pairs of spaced fingers, the adjacent sides ofeach pair providing an intervening ribbon guide slot open at its top,the fingers of the two pairs which are adjacent, each having a flange atits top directed rearwardly, an ear extending upwardly from said flangeadjacent the open end of the slot and each of the other fingers having aflange at its top directed forwardly.

8. Ina ribbon guide for a typewriter machine and the like, a ribbonguide proper having two pairs of upstanding spaced fingers, the adjacentsides of each pair providing an intervening relatively wide ribbon guideslot which is open and unobstructed at its top, the fingers of the twopairs which are adjacent each having a flange at its top directedrearwardly, each of the other fingers having a flange at its topdirected forwardly, the fingers of the two pairs which are adjacentlying in a common plane, the other two fingers lying in a common planesubstantially parallel to and forwardly of the first plane and saidother two fingers being spaced apart farther than the fingers of the twopairs which are adjacent.

2,442,245 Myers May 25, 1948 Enders Nov. 26, 1907

